General Industrial Machinery Stocks Q3 Teardown: Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) Vs The Rest

January 09, 2025 at 04:08 AM EST

CMCO Cover Image

As the Q3 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the general industrial machinery industry, including Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ: CMCO) and its peers.

Automation that increases efficiency and connected equipment that collects analyzable data have been trending, creating new demand for general industrial machinery companies. Those who innovate and create digitized solutions can spur sales and speed up replacement cycles, but all general industrial machinery companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending and interest rates, for example, can greatly impact the industrial production that drives demand for these companies’ offerings.

The 15 general industrial machinery stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 5.5% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 2.3% on average since the latest earnings results.

Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ: CMCO)

With 19 different brands across the globe, Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ: CMCO) offers material handling equipment for the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries.

Columbus McKinnon reported revenues of $242.3 million, down 6.2% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. Overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

"Our commercial and operational initiatives are delivering wins with new and existing customers in attractive vertical markets and we delivered one of our highest order quarters in history with 16% order growth and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.08x in Q2." said David J. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Interestingly, the stock is up 9.3% since reporting and currently trades at $35.24.

Read our full report on Columbus McKinnon here, it’s free.

Best Q3: Luxfer (NYSE: LXFR)

With its magnesium alloys used in the construction of the famous Spirit of St. Louis aircraft, Luxfer (NYSE: LXFR) offers specialized materials, components, and gas containment devices to various industries.

Luxfer reported revenues of $99.4 million, up 2.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 15.9%. The business had an incredible quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

Luxfer delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 1.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $12.58.

Is now the time to buy Luxfer? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ: IEP)

Founded in 1987, Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ: IEP) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in investment and asset management across various sectors.

Icahn Enterprises reported revenues of $2.22 billion, down 25.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.1%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Icahn Enterprises delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 28.6% since the results and currently trades at $9.20.

Read our full analysis of Icahn Enterprises’s results here.

Crane (NYSE: CR)

Based in Connecticut, Crane (NYSE: CR) is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products, including fluid handling, and aerospace technologies.

Crane reported revenues of $548.3 million, up 3.4% year on year. This print missed analysts’ expectations by 7.8%. Overall, it was a slower quarter as it also recorded a miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income and EPS estimates.

Crane had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $153.66.

Read our full, actionable report on Crane here, it’s free.

Hillenbrand (NYSE: HI)

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) is an industrial company that designs, manufactures, and sells highly engineered processing equipment and solutions for various industries.

Hillenbrand reported revenues of $837.6 million, up 9.8% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 5.6%. Aside from that, it was a slower quarter as it produced full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

Hillenbrand had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 2.9% since reporting and currently trades at $31.08.

Read our full, actionable report on Hillenbrand here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed's series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market has thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% each in November and December), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump's presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by the pace and magnitude of future rate cuts as well as potential changes in trade policy and corporate taxes once the Trump administration takes over. The path forward is marked by uncertainty.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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